MakiChalle 2024 Grand Prize winner Midwest Composites tests furniture made from Makinohara tea by-products in Shibuya
Midwest Composites Sdn. Bhd., the Malaysian startup that won the Grand Prize at MakiChalle 2024, installed furniture made from green tea by-products from Makinohara in Shibuya, Tokyo, and ran a field trial from Saturday, October 31 to Saturday, November 7, 2026. Makinohara City has also featured the project.
Putting tea by-products to use — a project that began at MakiChalle
Midwest Composites develops eco-friendly composite materials made from agricultural waste and other resources. Through MakiChalle, the company connected with automotive businesses in Makinohara and has been building its business around local resources, including prototype car interior parts made with tea by-products. This time, after being selected for GREEN VALLEY SHIBUYA, a green-tech startup support program run by Tokyu Land Corporation, the company carried out a field trial in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Tea-based furniture on the streets of Shibuya
For the trial, the company made tables, benches and other furniture from a composite material that uses green tea by-products from Makinohara. The furniture was placed along Shibuya River Street, where passers-by could actually use it. The trial tested comfort and material durability in a busy urban space, while showing how tea by-products that used to be thrown away can be turned into valuable products as part of a circular economy.
Dates: Saturday, October 31 – Saturday, November 7, 2026 Location: Shibuya River Street (Shibuya, Tokyo) Details: Tables, benches and other furniture made from Makinohara green tea by-products, tested through everyday use by visitors
From a MakiChalle connection to new value for local resources
MakiChalle is a business contest that encourages collaboration between startups from Japan and abroad and local companies, aiming to create new businesses that make use of Makinohara's local resources. Midwest Composites' project shows how a connection made at MakiChalle led to technology development using Makinohara's tea by-products, and how it grew from prototypes made in the city to a field trial in Shibuya, one of Tokyo's busiest areas. MakiChalle will continue to support the partnerships and new challenges that grow out of the contest.